Louisiana PSC Orders BellSouth to Stop Denying Consumers Choice
CLINTON, Miss., BACKGROUND: The Louisiana Public Service Commission today barred BellSouth from withholding high-speed Internet DSL service to customers that choose a competitor for voice service. WorldCom and other competing carriers had argued that the BellSouth practice was anti-competitive because it prevented consumers from obtaining the voice provider of their choice and was a clear violation of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the Louisiana Commission's regulations and earlier findings.
The following statement should be attributed to Neal Larsen, WorldCom Regional Executive for Public Policy:
"This decision is good for Louisiana consumers and represents a positive step toward forcing BellSouth to live up to its network-sharing obligations under the 1996 federal Telecommunications Act. With this ruling BellSouth no longer will be allowed to deny consumers a choice of competing local phone providers.
"BellSouth's practice of tying together its voice and DSL services was a bald-faced attempt to perpetuate its monopoly on the voice market in Louisiana. Now that the Louisiana Commission has rejected BellSouth's latest ploy to subvert local competition, Louisiana consumers will have more choices for innovative local phone services."
